Kurtenbach: Can anyone actually compete with these Warriors?

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Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) and Draymond Green (23) celebrate after Curry made a basket before the start of their basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND — Are the Denver Nuggets really the second-best team in the Western Conference?

We all know the Warriors are the best team in the league, which obviously makes them the best team in the West — but is Denver truly their top competition in what is usually a highly-competitive conference?

Don’t me wrong — I like the Nuggets and am intrigued by what they’re doing to start this season. But if what we’re seeing is true — if the Nuggets are truly the second-best team in the Western Conference this season — then the Warriors simply don’t have a worthy adversary on their side of the bracket.

Yes, I know it’s early — I get that there are six months to go in the NBA regular season and that nothing in this league is certain or guaranteed (no matter what the national pundits tell you) but the way things are shaking out could not be more advantageous to Golden State.

As if this team needed the extra help.

Seriously, though, I’m flummoxed — who is going to push the Warriors in the West?

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Remember the Houston Rockets? They were the team that had two games to beat the Warriors once to advance to the NBA Finals last May. Well, they don’t even look like a playoff team right now. They’ve dealt with injuries and suspensions, yes, but their offense is a mess, their defense has been so shambolic that poor Jeff Bzdelik had to come out of retirement, and they’re relying on Carmelo Anthony to be a plus player. That team didn’t just regress — they became actively bad. And while it probably won’t hold, I can’t take them seriously as a threat at the moment (and I don’t expect that to change).

LeBron’s Lakers? What can I tell you that hasn’t been yelled on ESPN for the last three weeks? Head coach Luke Walton seems to be on the hot seat, they’re playing JaVale McGee 25 minutes per game (we all love JaVale, but can you rely on JaVale? There’s a difference…), and LeBron has fully embraced the laid-back California lifestyle and isn’t playing a lick of defense. But don’t worry, they have Rajon Rondo and Lance Stephenson….

The Lakers might make the playoffs, and any game or series with the Warriors will no doubt be fun — but let’s be serious, they’re not an actual title contender. They’re not even close.

Who else was supposed to make the Warriors’ life difficult this season?

(Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

The Jazz — with their excellent coaching, a coterie of power wings, and all-world defense — are a sub-.500 team because, get this: Donovan Mitchell wasn’t ready to turn into a new-and-better edition of Dwyane Wade just yet. He has an effective field-goal percentage of 48 percent this season (to the non-stat heads: that’s bad!)

The Thunder are doing Thunder things: playing hard but never quite meshing. Paul George would be a disappointment if he was playing in any other market, the generic 3-and-D wings they seem to spawn organically from the arid soil can neither make a 3 or play D, and Russell Westbrook has re-engaged an old criticism early — media folks questioning if he’s a good teammate (the answer: he’s an unselfish person, but a selfish basketball player — it’s almost as if your game and your personality are different things!)

Meanwhile: The Pelicans — my pick to be the top contenders in the West — are falling apart with Anthony Davis out of the lineup. (Maybe I shouldn’t have been so vocal about my prediction…)

The Timberwolves are the best soap opera on television right now — and soap operas aren’t known for their portrayal of functional, successful situations.

And while the Blazers are pretty good, I must ask: are we going to take them seriously as a contender? I’ve seen that series before — and no, the emergence of Zach Collins as a viable backup 5 doesn’t change a damn thing.

At the moment, the Nuggets are the top contender to the Warriors’ West crown — after all, they’re second in the conference standings and beat the Warriors last month.

I love Nik Jokic and think that the backcourt of Jamal Murray and Gary Harris is ace, but take a good, long look at both squads — in a Western Conference Finals series between both teams, would you pick the Warriors to sweep or for the Nuggets to claim a game? That’s a toss-up for me, even with Denver’s excellent home-court advantage.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

This isn’t a statement on Warriors’ exceptionalism — this team doesn’t need any more lionization. No, this is about the state of their competition in the big bad West — it’s simply not up to par so far this season, and I don’t hold out much hope that it’ll get there.

In fact, the Warriors’ best competition this season might be in the East. And to think, a few months ago, we considered — for good reason — the Western Conference Finals the de-facto NBA Finals.

While the Celtics and 76ers are struggling to find their groove early in the season, the Raptors and the Warriors’ Thursday opponent, the Bucks, are off to tremendous starts.

With Draymond Green out of the lineup for Thursday’s game, it’s hard to put too much stock in the outcome of the game against the Bucks, but it could well be an incomplete NBA Finals preview.

(Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

The Warriors are the NBA’s best team when it comes to net rating (point differential per 100 possessions), the Bucks are second, and third place (the Blazers) isn’t even close.

The Warriors lead the NBA in point per game. The Bucks are second.

The same goes for effective field goal percentage, true shooting percentage, and Player Impact Estimate.

Under new coach Mike Budenholzer, the Bucks have gone to the next level. Add in the fact that the Bucks — with their prodigious length — have always been a tricky matchup for Golden State, and Thursday’s game might make a statement — the Bucks are ready for the Warriors.

At the same time, the Raptors might be ready for Golden State too. I’m a big fan of what’s happening in Ontario.

But there’s a lot of time between now and June — when that status really matters.

And in that period of time, the Warriors will add one of the NBA’s top centers — Demarcus Cousins.

(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

Perhaps the Rockets will figure it out in the next few weeks. (Ok, the next few months…)

Maybe the Lakers will right a ship that was never really on-line. (I’m less optimistic about that one.)

Maybe Denver will be able to maintain their second-ranked defense after they add Isaiah Thomas (excuse me while I step away and laugh).

But in the meantime, I suppose we have games like Thursday’s and our imagination.

Perhaps someone can push Golden State. Maybe someone can make them travel on their march towards a fourth title in five years.

But the longer I look at it, the more I’m convinced: That’s probably not happening — no matter what we see against the Bucks.